August 26, 2002 - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Six days after my last release and two years since their debut "Parachutes", Coldplay released their second album "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" on August 26, 2002. After the success of their debut this album would propel Coldplay into full-blown pop/rock stars. It reached #1 on the charts and spawned four singles, three of which became immensely popular. This album shows Coldplay expanding on their mostly acoustic style with more electric guitars and piano. Let's check out the latest from Coldplay!

The album begins with "Politik" and it's driven by a pretty basic guitar riff, but when things fall away to just Chris Martin singing and playing piano things sound quietly epic. The music is very smooth, but a little unexciting, but Martin's vocals carry the song as he sounds great throughout and shows off a wide vocal range, including some nice high notes. Up next is our first of four singles (all in a row) called "In My Place" and it's got a very dreamy and pop-y main riff that's driven by some solid guitar, but the vibe is very light and fluffy indeed. Martin enters to sing a nice pop-y verse as the music mostly falls away and they do a nice job of building it back up with a smooth and fluffy verse. They continue to build it up, then drop off again and it's a pretty catchy and smooth recipe for a no-brainer of a single, even if it never really jumps out at any point. Track 3 is "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" and Jonny Buckland plays some acoustic guitar while Guy Berryman plays some cool low bass as the driving riff of the least succesful of the four singles, but still pretty popular. Once Will Champion joins in on drums Buckland switches to electric guitar and things sound pretty catchy and solid with Martin singing with his typically solid voice. It's quite the toe-tapper and at times it's actually fairly loud, and others they nicely fall away for the epic quiet. The next track is "The Scientist" and Martin leads the way with a slow piano riff that is a little sad, but it's very smooth and quietly epic. Martin sings a slow verse to match the mood and he sounds good holding some long notes, and hitting some pretty high notes as well in the chorus. After one round Buckland adds some acoustic guitar and then the rhythm section falls in to finally complete this pop-y main riff. It's easy to see why this was such a succesful single: it's very smooth, pop-y and a pretty perfect single. Martin just ooohs and ahhhhs for the whole final minute and it's a bit of a bland way to finish things off for me. Track 5 would become one of Coldplay's most well-known songs and it's titled "Clocks". Martin drives the song with a fast piano riff that sounds pretty cool and it's a really solid backbone for this single as it's a super catchy and also pretty cool piano riff. The rest of the band fills in nicely around it and then things get quiet as Martin starts a super smooth and catchy verse. The chorus is really just Martin hitting some really high "hee-heeee"s and "ahhh"s, but his super high voice sounds crystal clear and this was another no-brainer of a single as it's just so damn accessible! Most of the song sticks to the main drag, but it's a super catchy main drag and I like how things get louder towards the end and they also finish on a nice epic note. An undeniably good single! Up next is "Daylight" and there's a whole strings section leading the way with some epic and interesting stuff while Martin plays some nice piano in the background and Berryman and Champion form a fast and solid rhythm section. The strings fall away for the verse and Martin's piano nicely takes the lead as he also sings a solid lower than usual verse. The chorus is in a more typical higher voice and Martin sounds good as usual overtop a pretty bland chorus riff honestly. Thankfully there's lots going on the rest of the time, the verse is way more interesting than the chorus for sure. The end is a little repetitive as well and while the verse was pretty interesting, everything else was just decent. Track 7 is "Green Eyes" and Martin jumps right into the first verse with some slow and smooth singing overtop a catchy acoustic guitar riff. Half of this song is just Chris Martin: there's no bass, drums or electric guitar until about halfway through. Then things get a little spiced up with some catchy electric guitar and a nice rhythm section to match the mood. A quiet but solid little tune. The next track is "Warning Sign" and Martin plays the soft rhythm guitar riff while Buckland plays some light electric stuff overtop. Martin sings another pop-y and smooth verse but the chorus is a little bland and unexciting. After a couple light rounds Martin takes the lead on a new part with some soft piano and a really high verse and this takes us all the way to the end of the song. It was decent, but a little on the fluffy side for me. Track 9 is "A Whisper" and Buckland drives things with an interesting guitar riff that is a little offbeat and everyone builds around it with Martin fittingly whispering "whisper, whisper" overtop. Martin sings a louder verse and the music nicely picks up and the offbeat "whisper" part turns out to be the chorus. They continue to jam out the main drag for the whole song, which makes things alright but definitely not amazing. Up next is the title track "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" and Martin plays a smooth acoustic guitar riff and sings a light but nice verse to match in this quiet epic opening. After about a minute the rest of the band finally joins in to round out this smooth main riff and things sound loud and nicely epic in the chorus as Martin hopes some long notes. After another slow and solid round Buckland plays a bit of cool guitar as they smoothly jam out this closing riff. The album wraps up with "Amsterdam" and Martin leads the way with some really beautiful piano. He sings a really nice verse that perfectly matches the mood and has some nice highs and lows and I'm really shocked this wasn't a single as I think it's very accessible but also really well done. It's several minutes of really epic and well done stuff by Chris Martin and I think it's probably my favourite song on the album, the piano is fantastic and it sets the stage wonderfully for the rest of the band to finally join in for the final minute-plus with some smooth rock backdrop. A great way to finish off the album!

That is the end of "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" and I thought it was a good album, but a very pop-y album. Surprisingly the singles are some of the best songs and there is a lot of really catchy stuff on this album, but it's very light and fluffy at times as well. I find it a little difficult to compare with their debut because they are very different albums, but I think I like "Parachutes" more. Where will Coldplay's fame take them from here?